Lift Off
Snow Geese lifting off a prairie 'lake' during the Fall Migration. (North of Herbert, Sk - 2015 October 08)
Snow Geese lifting off a prairie 'lake' during the Fall Migration. (North of Herbert, Sk - 2015 October 08)
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Sep, 2016Views
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Maadhatter
March 08, 2017
Thousands of migrating Canada Geese lifting off of Francis Lake (near Herbert, Saskatchewan). What a feeling to experience such a sight.
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Maadhatter
August 23, 2017
Thank you very much. I got lucky with this shot... I cannot describe the feeling one has when the whole flock of mostly Snow Geese lifts off the water. It is breathtaking, it is powerful and it is very moving (I often cry.)
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at a 'prairie lake' (Francis Lake) located along a gravel road a few kilometres north of Herbert, Saskatchewan.Time
This is one of my favourite photos. I was pulled over on the gravel road watching and listening to the Snow Geese. Suddenly they started to make a lot of noise and began to lift off the water. This photo was shot at 3:01PM CST (2015 October 08).Lighting
It was a sunny autumn mid-afternoon. The sun highlighted the white of the Snow Geese as they lifted off the water.Equipment
I shot this hand-held, with a Nikon D200 set to Aperture Priority f /26 1/60 sec ISO 100 White Balance - manual erroneously set to "Flash"; Exposure 0 step; Spot Metering. I shot this photo using a Nikoor AF 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 lens at 40mm.Inspiration
I am a birder and love sitting beside a body of water quietly watching and listening to the bird life and other animal life. I find there is something exciting about a large flock of migrating geese, and even more so when they lift off the water in unison. On this day, the sight and the sounds were overwhelming, and you could feel their excitement and power of their wings as they were lifting off the water. I was literally moved to tears. I quietly lifted my camera and shot a few frames, hoping at least one photo would capture even a small piece of what I was feeling. This location inspires me every time I go there, and especially during the annual autumn migrations.Editing
This photo was shot in JPEG format. The original photo was a bit dull, so I did a small amount of post-processing. Using ACDSee Pro 6, I made minor adjustments to the Exposure and Contrast.In my camera bag
I usually have my Nikon D750, D200 and D5100 cameras in my bag along with my Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR lens, a Tamron SP 24-70MM F/2.8 Di VC USD and a Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens. I recently added a Tamron 18-400mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD to my bag but have not yet had a change to use it much. I also always have my cellular phone with me (I like to use it when I want a wider angle photo.Feedback
My advice for others is to take the time to 'stop and smell the roses and listen to the geese'. Appreciate everything around you, always look for photo opportunities wherever you are, then shoot, shoot, shoot.... shoot as often as you can and when you are out and about, get off the main roads. This photograph was taken just a few kilometres off the TransCanada Highway. Also take the opportunity to use all or most of your photographic equipment including your cellular phone.... Always take more than one photo ... you can always delete it if it doesn't turn out. When you download your photos, don't discard the photo right away because the colour isn't what you had wanted it to be. Try adjusting the lighting, exposure, etc, and also convert it to sepia or black and white... sometimes that is the only adjustment you need to make to the photo in post-processing. The most important advice of all... ALWAYS HAVE FUN!!!!
